Without thinking, her eyes snapped to him, but the questions reeling in her mind came to a full stop as she took in his body. He was beautiful with clothes on, but naked . . . he was simply magnificent.
He chuckled.
Skies above! Had he noticed her gawking? Quickly, she tried to come up with an excuse. Any excuse! “I wasn’t looking!”What the hell was that?“I, erm, I was looking at the house.”Smooth, Luna. Really smooth.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Sure. Of course, you were.” He waved his hand across the surface of the door. A bunch of clicking and banging sounded as locks opened from the inside and the door slowly swung open. Damien walked in, but she didn’t follow.
It didn’t seem polite to walk into a house with hooves. Peering through the open door, she waited patiently for him.
He had put on a navy blue fleece robe that was tied at the waist and was carrying a second robe, draped over his shoulder, as he moved about the small kitchen. Cupboards and drawers banged open and closed. She could hear him muttering to himself about how disorganized the house was. He announced each item as he found them. “A hair from a fairy. The wings of a bitterstung beetle. Water from the Lake of Glenaridge. Ah! Here we go. Unicornbane dust.” He grabbed a few specks of the herb, dropping them into a glass of water. He gave the cup a good stir before he returned to Luna’s side.
He reached for her, taking her head gently in his hands and cupped her chin, tipping the glass over to let a few drops land on her face and horn. “Sometimes it takes a second,” he said, blowing on her face the way you would to a small flame hoping to coax it into a fire.
Pain followed almost immediately after.
The liquid burned as it passed from her throat to belly, then an explosion of white light burst from her and pain became all she knew as her body reorganized itself.
She screamed as her legs collapsed beneath her, and her breathing came in short, ragged pants. Her vision blurred, black spots forming as an overwhelming drain consumed her.
When her transformation was finally complete, Damien crouched down and gently placed a robe around her naked body. She heard him say something, but she was too far gone to understand his words. The last thing she remembered before falling into darkness was the strange warmth that surged through her as Damien scooped her into his arms.
Chapter 9
Secrets Revealed
Strong arms held Luna as she drifted in and out of consciousness.
“We can’t help her until we have Nina,” a honey-sweet voice said.
“I don’t trust those humans. They’ve been lying to her for her entire life—telling her she is human when she’s not.”Damien.
“She told me they kept her on a tight leash,” a different voice replied, who Luna recognized as Marion. “But, she didn’t give me any reason to think she was being harmed by them.”
Damien interrupted, “That doesn’t mean she’s safe.”
“As long as they don’t suspect she knows the truth, I’m sure she will be fine,” Marion continued. “If Luna goes missing, they’ll hide Nina, and we may never get our hands on her. There’s no guarantee we’ll be able to locate her again.”
“That’s not an option, we need Nina,” Damien replied. “But this feels awfully like throwing a sheep into a lion’s den and hoping for the best.”
“We get it. You’re in looovveeee,” the female with the honey-sweet voice teased.
“I didn’t say that.”
“Would it be so bad?” Marion retorted, “I know you like to pretend that cold black heart of yours is impenetrable, but—”
“Can we stay focused, please?” Damien interrupted.
Another male spoke up, “We have enough to worry about. Let’s focus on the problems at hand, not add more.”
Luna groaned and tried to open her eyes, but her lids were too heavy and she couldn’t muster the strength.
“What do you want us to do, Damien?” Marion asked.
“I’m going to bring her back to the palace,” he answered. “Then we’re going to adjust our plan to take both of them home with us.”
As he spoke, Luna’s awareness waned, her mind slipping back into the depths of unconsciousness.
The next time she awoke, Damien wasn’t there, and she was back in her bed.Home sweet home,she thought to herself. She slammed her hand to her forehead, and when she didn’t feel a horn, she smiled. Pure bliss hugged her, warming her from the inside out. The nightmare was finally over. She nestled back into her soft sheets, more than thankful to be human again. Now she could carry on with her normalhumanlife.
